On winning the Ballon d'Or: "Although I don't like talking about myself, I had a very good season on an individual level. It was very nice to see everyone recognise my work."

On Gareth Bale: "Gareth and I are very similar. We're shy and we don't talk a lot. Gareth speaks and understands Spanish well. There's a good atmosphere in the dressing room and he gets on really well with his teammates. He enjoys being at Madrid, the best team in the world. Everybody likes to enjoy things in their own way and we have to respect that."

On swapping all his individual awards for a World Cup with Croatia: "I'd swap all my individual awards to have won the World Cup with Croatia. To have won it, and as captain, would have been incredible. We achieved the best result in our country's history but in the end, we couldn't win. It was a shame. We were still very happy and proud of what we achieved. We just lacked that final step. I hope in the next 20 years there's a generation who ends up winning it!"